Tipping Policy

Page 4 of The wife and I argued about this earlier. How much do you tip... Pizza Delivery: 2 dollars and whatever the coin change is Waiter: 20% of the bill befo... 156 comments | 3648 Views | Go to page 1 →

Waiter: 20% of the bill before taxes. If service is terrible, it drops to 10-12%

Reds Usher: I try to avoid them but if I can't, then a dollar.

Reds concession vendors: I do not tip them.

Chinese Buffet: Maybe a dollar. It is a buffet where I serve myself.

The tip bucket at chipotle/starbucks/subway/Mccallisters/ect: I do not tip them.

Restaurant Host or Hostess: I tip them nothing.

Appliance Delivery and assembly: I tip them about 15 dollars. This is where the wife and I disagree, she says you're not supposed to tip them because they live off a wage and not tips.

Pizza guy gets $5.00.

Restaurant server, I calculate 20% and then round up to nearest whole dollar.

I've not used an usher in years. Concession workers get nothing unless it is a youth team at UC or Xavier, then they get an extra $5 or $10 based on what I have.

Chinese buffets, I leave $2 or $3 on table depending on how well I stay refilled.

Tip buckets at subway type places, Starbucks, etc get zero.

Hostesses get nothing.

Furniture / Applicance delivery guys get enough to buy their crew a meal - $20-$40 depending on amount they brought / took, how careful they tried to be, etc.

Valets are interesting. I'm handing them the 2nd most expensive thing I own, they always get a $20 up front, followed by "please keep it close". My vehicle is typically in the 1st or 2nd spot to the door. Well worth it.

Just curious, what do you all think/do for the walking vendor at ball games?

I must say, I hate buying beer at a ballgame because it is so expensive. I don't drink much anyway but never buy at the ballgame. I don't even know what it is but If it's like $7/8 I would just round it up to $10. Again, if I'm too lazy to get my own beer, I would expect to tip for you to bring it to me.

$5 and the change to delivery, $6 to a waiter, 20% to a bartender. I'll tip Chipotle when I pick up food for the office too, assuming it's done on time. Can't say I've used the other services mentioned.

I basically have two rules. Get my order right and keep my glass filled. I should never have to wave down a server for a refill or ask for a refill if they come past my table.

I never blame the server for my food taking a long time to get to me, but like it when they check in from time to time if it is taking a while.

I have also learned that when a server puts my check down on the table and says "I'm going to leave this with you, but don't be in a hurry," I had better make sure my glass is filled because apparently, that is server speak for "You will never see me again."

Good, friendly service means 20-25%.

At hibachi style restaurants, I usually tip the chef separate and knock my tip down to about 15% simply because the chef is doing most of the work.

I only tip at Sonic if I'm paying in cash and usually that's just the silver and I request nothing but bills back. Call me old fashioned, but walking my sack of food 17 steps to my car does not warrant a 25% tip unless a foot massage and laundry service comes with it.

I joined BGP in 2001 as a way to stay awake late at night when it came time to feed my twin sons. They are now seniors in high school and have both gotten jobs in food service. They have a better appreciation of servers and bus boys and tell me stories -- good and bad -- about their work. Too many times a server gets blamed for bad food or an incorrect order, which results in a poor tip. A good server can rescue a bad order and still make the experience a good one. The boys tell me they like working with them. But they also like working with the poor servers because if they do extras such as fill glasses, replace silverware, or just ask how they are doing, they often get tipped by the customers on the way out of the restaurant.

Is there anybody at the golf course that I'm supposed to tip? The starter? Concession girl? The guy who cleans the carts?

I usually slip the starter a couple bucks. The concession girl gets a buck or two, especially if she comes around often. I also will slip the cart guy a $5 IF he unloads and cleans my clubs. I tend to only see these things at resort type courses....rarely see these amenities at my local tracks. I've only played golf once with a caddy.

First of all I am a good tipper. I know how much it means to the servers and others and they deserve to be fairly compensated.

That said, my personal opinion is they should do away with tipping in the restaurant industry and raise the pay (and the cost of meals) accordingly. It is too sporadic and puts the wait staff on the hook for many things that out of their control. But that is another debate.

As far as tipping goes, I've never really thought the percentage method was a good barometer of how much to tip a server. If I go out to lunch with @spindoc and @LRCW chances are our meals are going to be priced differently. Let's say our total bills are $24, $15 and $9 (because I got the fillet and LRCW just got a small salad). If we each tip 20% and round up to nearest dollar, then those would be $5, $3 and $2

If you are our waiter, then you provided the same service to us all so why should our tips be that different?

I think a per patron, per hour amount would be more appropriate.

For instance, instead of using 15-20% as the accepted amount and basing it on cost, let's assume we had an industry standard suggested tip amount of $4 per patron, per hour.

In the above example, if we planted ourselves for 45 minutes at the table, each of us would tip $3 no matter the cost of our meals. If we sat around and chewed the fat for 15 minutes, and tied up the table for an hour, then each of us would tip $4. If the service was exceptionally good (or bad), then we could increase (or decrease) the amount accordingly.

I haven't put a lot of thought into this, and it could be adjusted for high cost areas (cost of living in Chicago is much different than Pikeville). But I do think a per patron, per hour amount is more fair than basing tips on cost of food.

First of all I am a good tipper. I know how much it means to the servers and others and they deserve to be fairly compensated.

That said, my personal opinion is they should do away with tipping in the restaurant industry and raise the pay (and the cost of meals) accordingly. It is too sporadic and puts the wait staff on the hook for many things that out of their control. But that is another debate.

As far as tipping goes, I've never really thought the percentage method was a good barometer of how much to tip a server. If I go out to lunch with @spindoc and @LRCW chances are our meals are going to be priced differently. Let's say our total bills are $24, $15 and $9 (because I got the fillet and LRCW just got a small salad). If we each tip 20% and round up to nearest dollar, then those would be $5, $3 and $2

If you are our waiter, then you provided the same service to us all so why should our tips be that different?

I think a per patron, per hour amount would be more appropriate.

For instance, instead of using 15-20% as the accepted amount and basing it on cost, let's assume we had an industry standard suggested tip amount of $4 per patron, per hour.

In the above example, if we planted ourselves for 45 minutes at the table, each of us would tip $3 no matter the cost of our meals. If we sat around and chewed the fat for 15 minutes, and tied up the table for an hour, then each of us would tip $4. If the service was exceptionally good (or bad), then we could increase (or decrease) the amount accordingly.

I haven't put a lot of thought into this, and it could be adjusted for high cost areas (cost of living in Chicago is much different than Pikeville). But I do think a per patron, per hour amount is more fair than basing tips on cost of food.

Never thought about it that way. But to me, it seems problematic. How do I know how much tip when I travel? Are professional, career servers at high end places who know how the food is prepared and can make knowledgeable wine recommendations from a list a mile long, going to get the same tip as the part timer at Applebee's? I think while this may work at the typical diner/national chain restaurant, I think it would have a big negative effect on your finer, high end restaurants.

Never thought about it that way. But to me, it seems problematic. How do I know how much tip when I travel? Are professional, career servers at high end places who know how the food is prepared and can make knowledgeable wine recommendations from a list a mile long, going to get the same tip as the part timer at Applebee's? I think while this may work at the typical diner/national chain restaurant, I think it would have a big negative effect on your finer, high end restaurants.

Fair point.

I suppose it is safe to say that no set of unofficial standards are going to be appropriate for every situation, and every rule will have exceptions. As I said in my very basic idea, adjustments could be made for high cost areas, and that would apply for high end restaurants. If the service includes specialized expertise or advice, then that would be an appropriate situation for additional tipping, no doubt.

The issue I was addressing is the question of using a percentage of cost "standard" if you will and exploring the possibility of something more equitable. I'm not sure if my idea is a good one or not.

Out of curiosity, do you tip those specialized folks now based on the same 15-20% rule of thumb as other restaurants or do you make an adjustment?